KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — The average price of steel bars increased 20 per cent in May 2022 to RM3,910 per tonne from RM3,258 per tonne in the corresponding period last year following the increase in the prices of building materials, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.

Chief statistician Datuk Sri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the Cost Materials of Building Index (BCI) without steel bars & with steel bars for all building category in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak increased in May 2022 compared with a year ago.

He said the increase in BCI for Peninsular Malaysia was between 7.8 and 15.6 per cent, Sabah (between 4.9 and 12.9 per cent) and Sarawak (between 7.4 and 16.5 per cent).

"Cement recorded an increase of 12.2 per cent in May 2022 at RM20.89 per 50 kg compared with RM18.61 per 50 kg in May 2021.

"Prices of most building materials such as aggregates, sand, bricks & walls, roofing materials, and ceiling materials also registered increases,” he said in a statement today.

Mohd Uzir said the unit price index of building materials increased between 4.1 per cent to 19.9 per cent.

"The price index per unit of steel and steel & sections increased by 19.9 per cent and 18.1 per cent, respectively, in May 2022 compared with May 2021.

"The price index per unit of cement increased by 12.4 per cent during the period,” he said, adding that in terms of selected items and regions, the highest increase in steel was recorded in Miri (35.9 per cent) followed by Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (29.3 per cent).

The price index per unit of cement for Kuching and Kota Kinabalu increased 19.6 per cent and 17.6, per cent respectively.

Both aggregates (21.7 per cent) and sand (15.1 per cent) also recorded a double digit increase in Penang, Kedah and Perlis.

The BCI with steel bars for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak showed increases for all building categories.

For BCI without steel bars, all regions in Peninsular Malaysia posted increases of between 5.4 and 14.6 per cent while that of Sabah and Sarawak (increased between 4.9 and 12 per cent for almost all building categories).

According to a World Steel Association (WSA) report, the global steel consumption is expected to increase to 1.84 billion tonnes in 2022, up 0.4 per cent from 2021, and in 2023 the steel demand is forecast to increase 2.2 per cent to 1.88 billion tonnes, the DoSM said.

It said a Commodity Markets Outlook Report from World Bank mentioned that most commodity prices are expected to rise in 2022. — Bernama